JP2002225994A - Service information reporting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service in compliance with the requirement of a customer in expectation of the arrival thereof. SOLUTION: In a service information reporting system 10, when a car 14 driven by a customer of a filling station 12 is running along a road 16 toward the filling station 12, customer information and car information of the car 14 is transmitted to a managing computer 13 of the station 12 via a host computer 19 of an information center 18. The car information of the car 14 is transmitted to the information center 18 by a radio equipment 30, and further it is transmitted from the host computer 19 of the center 18 by a radio transmitter to a filling station 12 in the advancing direction of the car 14. In the computer 19 at the center 18, an optimum filling station 12 is selected from among location information of the car 14, residue information of a fuel tank 22, customer information, and filling station information registered beforehand. Oil filling station information of the selected oil filling station 12 is transmitted to a radio equipment of the car 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a service information notifying system configured to transmit information of a customer who is going to visit a service providing place to the service providing place before the customer arrives.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, at a service providing place such as a gas station provided with a fueling device for refueling a vehicle,
When a vehicle arrives, a worker at a gas station supplies fuel such as gasoline or light oil to a fuel tank of the vehicle.

A driver (customer) driving a vehicle
Is operating after checking the remaining amount indicated by the fuel gauge provided in the driver's seat. When the remaining amount of the fuel tank decreases below a certain amount, the vehicle moves to a gas station and receives refueling. Generally, a driver determines a gas station to receive refueling, and often uses a specific gas station provided near a house or a company. Further, when the remaining amount of the fuel tank becomes low while the vehicle is moving, refueling is performed at a refueling station located along a road on which the vehicle is passing.

[0004] For this reason, at the gas station, regular customers who are always used and ordinary customers who happen to be used enter at the convenience of the time, and it is not possible to predict when the customer's vehicle will arrive. Therefore, at the refueling station, the vehicles that arrive are refueled in order, but depending on the day of the week or time of day, there are cases where the number of arriving vehicles is small and cases where a plurality of customers arrive consecutively. When the vehicle is fully refueled, the vehicle may enter further.

[0005]

However, in a refueling station for refueling a vehicle as described above, when another vehicle arrives when the vehicle is full with all the refueling devices refueling the vehicle. , Vehicles arriving later are waiting for their turn. For this reason, customers who do not like to wait may move to another gas station. In particular, for customers who have decided to refuel at a specific gas station, if they wait several times at the gas station, they will switch to another gas station and the regular customers will escape. Was.

At a gas station, if regular customers switch to refuel at another gas station, not only does sales decrease, but also the number of workers relative to the number of vehicles arrived is too large or too small. The working efficiency is not stable. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a service information notification system that solves the above problems.

[0007]

The present invention has the following features to solve the above-mentioned problems.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the content of service information corresponding to the customer data is notified to the service providing location by receiving customer data for specifying a customer who is to visit the service providing location. Therefore, it is possible to predict a customer who is scheduled to arrive, and it is possible to prepare a service for the customer in advance.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the time required for the customer to arrive at the location of the service providing location for the customer from the location specified by the location specifying means is calculated and displayed at the calculated arrival time. Means for displaying information for identifying the customer on the display means, the information of the customer can be known in advance at the time of arrival of the customer, and the service to the customer can be prepared in advance. .

The service providing place according to the third aspect of the present invention is a refueling station for refueling the vehicle on which the customer has boarded, and information of the customer who receives refueling at the refueling station (for example, the type of fuel or the like). ) Can be known in advance, and services to customers can be prepared in advance.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a service information notification system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the instrument panel as seen from the driver's seat of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, in the service information notification system 10, when a vehicle 14 driven by a customer of a gas station 12 is traveling on a road 16 toward the gas station 12, the host computer 19 of an information center 18. Customer information (customer ID or mobile phone number, etc. that can identify the customer) and vehicle information (vehicle type, vehicle number, oil type, remaining fuel amount, etc.) of the vehicle 14 are transmitted to the management computer 13 of the gas station 12. It is configured. The host computer 19 of the information center 18 includes a vehicle information storage database 19a and a customer information storage database 19b.
And a registered gas station database 19c.

The vehicle information storage database 19a stores vehicle information of each vehicle (owner's name, vehicle number, type of fuel, whether or not to clean windows, whether or not to clean an ashtray, collection of trash, necessity of oil change, etc.). ) Is registered. The customer information storage database 19b stores customer information (customer information) of each customer.
ID, mobile phone number, credit card number, etc.) are registered. In addition, the registered gas station database 19c includes:
Refueling station information (location, name, refuelable oil type, opening hours, closing hours, holidays, etc.) of each gas station is registered.
The vehicle information storage database 19a and the customer information storage database 19b constitute service information storage means.

As shown in FIG. 2, an instrument panel 20 of the vehicle 14 includes a steering wheel 22 and a speedometer 24.
Instruments such as a fuel gauge and a fuel gauge 25 are provided. Further, the instrument panel 20 includes a car navigation device 26 that measures the current position of the vehicle 14 and outputs peripheral map data, a liquid crystal monitor 28 that displays information output from the car navigation device 26, and communication with the outside. And a wireless device (cellular phone) 30 as a transmitting means for performing the communication. Further, the gas station 12 and the information center 18 are provided with wireless devices (receiving means) 31 and 33 which can wirelessly transmit and receive with the wireless device 30.

The car navigation device 26 accurately measures the current position of the vehicle 14 by a global positioning system (GPS) and displays on the liquid crystal monitor 28 road guidance in the traveling direction and map information on peripheral facilities. At the same time, information on the remaining amount of fuel (gasoline) remaining in the fuel tank 34 can be obtained from the liquid level gauge of the fuel tank 34.

The vehicle information of the vehicle 14 (owner's name, vehicle number, remaining fuel amount, etc.) is transmitted to the information center 18 by the wireless device 30, and the vehicle is wirelessly transmitted from the host computer 19 of the information center 18. 14 to the gas station 12 in the direction of travel.

Assuming that the remaining amount of the fuel tank 34 of the vehicle 14 during driving is lower than a preset lower limit value,
The car navigation device 26 displays an image prompting refueling on the liquid crystal monitor 28 based on the liquid level signal detected by the liquid level sensor 36 of the fuel tank 34, and the wireless device 3
When the number is 0, the remaining amount information is transmitted to the host computer 19 of the information center 18.

The host computer 19 of the information center 18
Then, the most suitable gas station 12 is selected from the position information of the vehicle 14, the remaining amount information of the fuel tank 22, the customer information and the gas station information registered in advance, and the gas station information of the selected gas station 12 (location) , Name, refuelable oil type, opening hours, closing hours, holidays, etc.) to the wireless device 30 of the vehicle 14. At the same time, the host computer 19 of the information center 18 transmits vehicle information including the customer information on the vehicle 14 to the management computer 13 via the wireless device 31 of the gas station 12.

The vehicle information transmitted to the refueling station 12 includes, for example, the name of the owner, the vehicle type, the type of fuel, the remaining amount of fuel, the time of oil replacement, the optimal amount of oil and the required amount, the direction of the filler port, Various information such as a vehicle inspection time, a current position of the vehicle 14, and a predicted arrival time at the gas station 12 are included.

The customer information is searched for the vehicle 14 in the customer information storage database 19b registered in the host computer 19 of the information center 18, and when the owner of the wireless device 30 is known, the customer information of the vehicle 14 is obtained. Search by owner name.

On the other hand, a car navigation device 26 mounted on the vehicle 14 displays image information such as a distance to the service station 12 and a road guide map based on the service station information transmitted from the wireless device 33 of the information center 18. The information is displayed on the monitor 28 and the vehicle 14 is guided to the gas station 12.

At the gas station 12, when the management computer 13 receives the customer information or the vehicle information from the information center 18, the visit time of the customer (vehicle 14) can be predicted based on the received customer information or the vehicle information. Therefore, the worker at the refueling station 12 can prepare a service system according to the vehicle information (the type of oil to be refueled, the presence or absence of oil change, etc.) according to instructions from the management computer 13 and serve customers.

The customer information of the vehicle 14 is transmitted to the information center 1
8, the customer information and the vehicle information can be obtained before visiting the store, even if the customer is not a regular customer. I can do it.

Further, the customer driving the vehicle 14
Since information can be exchanged via the wireless device 30 mounted on the vehicle 14, the service contents (for example, refueling amount, car wash, drink order, etc.) required by the customer can be exchanged at the refueling station 1.
2 can be sent. For this reason, since the gas station 12 can proceed with the preparation according to the customer's request before visiting the store, the waiting time of the customer can be reduced, and the troublesome oil change operation can be quickly performed.

If the fuel tank 22 of the vehicle 14 has a sufficient remaining amount, the host computer 19 of the information center 18 reports that the vehicle 14 has approached the gas station 12.
To the management computer 13 of the gas station 12. Then, the management computer 13 of the gas station 12 can transmit information about the gas station 12 to the car navigation device 26 of the vehicle 14 and display an advertisement image of the gas station 12 on the liquid crystal monitor 28 to promote sales. . Thereby, the customer can recognize that the gas station 12 is present in the traveling direction, can check the service contents of the gas station 12, and try to stop at the gas station 12 even if the fuel level is sufficient. You can have a willingness to visit.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the equipment of the gas station 12. As shown in FIG. 3, at the gas station 12, the office 4
The management computer 13 and the wireless device 31 are installed in the area 0. In the refueling area 42 of the refueling station 12, four refueling devices 44a to 44d are installed. Each of the refueling devices 44a to 44d has a traffic light 46a to 46d for guiding the vehicle 14, Vehicle sensors 48a to 48d for detecting that the vehicle has arrived are provided.

Further, at the entrance of the gas station 12, a display device (display means) 50A for welcoming a customer of the vehicle 14A passing through the up lane 16A, and a display device (display means) for welcoming a customer of the vehicle 14B passing through the down lane 16B. A display device (display means) 50B is provided. Further, at the entrance of the gas station 12, a vehicle sensor 52A for detecting a vehicle 14A entering from the up lane 16A and a vehicle sensor 52 for detecting the vehicle 14B entering from the down lane 16B.
B is provided.

Refueling devices 44a-44 installed at the refueling station 12
44d, traffic signals 46a to 46d, vehicle sensors 48a to 4
8d, display devices 50A, 50B, vehicle sensors 52A, 5
2B is connected to the management computer 13 and managed by the management computer 13.

Here, the control processing executed by the management computer 13 will be described. FIG. 4 shows the management computer 1
3 is a flowchart of a control process executed by a third embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of an image displayed on the monitor 13 a of the management computer 13. As shown in FIG. 4, the management computer 13 stores the customer information of the vehicle 14 stored in the vehicle information storage database 19a and the customer information storage database 19b of the information center 18 in step S11 (hereinafter, "step" is omitted). The vehicle information is read (service information reading means), the read information is transmitted from the wireless device 33 of the information center 18, and it is checked whether or not the information has been received. In S11, when the information transmitted from the information center 18 is received,
Proceeding to S12, the expected arrival time T of the vehicle 14 is calculated from the current position information (arrival time calculating means), and the name of the customer scheduled to arrive on the monitor 13a of the management computer 13 as shown in FIG. , Display device 50A, 5
Information such as the presence / absence of a guidance display by 0B, the type of oil to be refueled, the presence / absence of wiping a window, the presence / absence of cleaning of an ashtray, the collection of trash, and the necessity of oil replacement are displayed and notified to the worker at the gas station 12 (notification means).

As a result, the worker at the gas station 12 can prepare service contents according to the customer's request by the expected arrival time of the customer who will come to the store. Further, when the customer's vehicle 14 arrives, the service desired by the customer can be provided immediately, so that the service content can be enhanced and the waiting time of the customer can be reduced.

In the next step S13, it is checked whether or not it is 5 minutes before the expected arrival time T. If it is 5 minutes before the expected arrival time T in S13, the process proceeds to S14,
For example, the display device 50A of the up lane 16A through which the vehicle 14 passes displays a visit message such as "Customer name OO, welcome".

In the next step S15, it is checked whether five minutes have passed since the expected arrival time T. In S15, when 5 minutes have passed from the estimated arrival time T, the process proceeds to S16,
Whether or not the vehicle 14 is separated from the gas station 12 is confirmed from the position information of the vehicle 14. Then, when the vehicle 14 is separated from the gas station 12, since the vehicle 14 has already passed the gas station 12, the process proceeds to S17, where the display of the display device 50A is canceled and non-displayed.

If the vehicle 14 is not separated from the gas station 12 in S16, there is a possibility that the vehicle 14 is heading for the gas station 12, so the process returns to S14 and the display device 50
Display the visit message of A.

If it is determined in step S15 that five minutes have not elapsed from the estimated arrival time T, the flow shifts to step S18 to determine whether the vehicle 14 is away from the gas station 12.
Confirm from the location information of 4. Then, when the vehicle 14 is separated from the gas station 12, since the vehicle 14 has already passed the gas station 12, the process proceeds to S17, where the display of the display device 50A is canceled and non-displayed. However, if the vehicle 14 has not been separated from the gas station 12 in S18, the process proceeds to S19, and the vehicle sensor 52 installed at the entrance of the gas station 12
Check whether A or 52B has detected vehicle 14A or 14B. When neither of the vehicle sensors 52A or 52B detects the vehicle 14,
The process returns to S15.

At S19, the vehicle sensor 52A installed at the entrance of the gas station 12 detects the vehicle 14A or 1
If 4B is detected, the process proceeds to S20, where the display device 50A
Alternatively, the display of 52B is canceled to be hidden. In the next step S21, the position of the fuel port of the vehicle 14 arriving at the gas station 12 and the type of oil to be refueled are read.

At S22, the refueling points at which the vehicle 14 can refuel (numbers of refueling devices 44a to 44d)
Is determined. Subsequently, in S23, it is checked whether or not a refueling point is available.

In S23, if there is any available refueling point, the process proceeds to S24, in which the refueling devices 44a to 44a to 44b are operated.
Among the traffic lights 46a to 46d provided at 44d, the traffic light at the refueling point is turned blue. The driver of the vehicle 14
It is waiting at the entrance of the refueling station 12 and moves to the refueling point of the traffic light that turns blue. In the next S25, the vehicle 14
Check to see if you have stopped at the refueling point of the traffic light that has turned green.

When the vehicle sensor of the refueling point among the vehicle sensors 48a to 48d provided in the refueling devices 44a to 44d is turned on, the process proceeds to S26, where the traffic light of the refueling point is switched to red and another vehicle enters. To prevent that.

In this manner, at the gas station 12, when the vehicle 14 approaches, the display device 50A of the up lane 16A through which the vehicle 14 passes displays a visit message such as "Customer name XX, welcome!" Therefore, even when a plurality of gas stations are lined up, the driver can enter the gas station 12 desired by the driver.

Further, as a modified example, when a portable telephone (including a PHS telephone) is used as the wireless device 30,
Since the customer can be identified from the mobile phone number, a refueling fee can be collected through a telephone communication company in which the mobile phone is registered. In this case, gas station 1
Since there is no need for the customer to exchange money directly with the customer, it is possible to avoid theft of money.

In the above embodiment, customer information and vehicle information are stored in the vehicle information storage database 19a of the information center 18,
Although the customer information is stored in the customer information storage database 19b, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, customer information and vehicle information may be stored in a storage device installed at the gas station 12. . In that case, the information center 18
An identification code or a mobile phone number that can identify a customer or an identification code or a vehicle number that can identify a vehicle 14 is transmitted from the host computer 19 to the management computer 13 of the gas station 12.

In the above-described embodiment, a gas station for supplying liquid fuel such as gasoline has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a charging facility for charging a battery of an electric vehicle or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) Alternatively, the present invention can be applied to a facility for supplying CNG (compressed natural gas) or other fuel to a vehicle. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration of the refueling station for supplying fuel to the vehicle has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and facilities that provide services other than services such as refueling (for example, convenience stores, fast food stores, etc.) Of course, it can also be applied to.

[0042]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the contents of the service information corresponding to the customer data are provided by the service to receive the customer data for specifying the customer expected to visit the service providing place. This is a notification to the providing location, and it is possible to predict a customer who is scheduled to arrive, and to prepare a service for the customer in advance. Therefore, when the customer arrives, the service according to the customer's request can be provided immediately, the service content can be enhanced, and the waiting time of the customer can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the time required for the customer to arrive at the location of the service providing location for the customer from the location specified by the location specifying means is calculated,
At the calculated arrival time, information for specifying the customer is displayed on the display means on the display means, so that the information of the customer can be known in advance at the time of arrival of the customer, and the service to the customer is prepared in advance. You can keep. for that reason,
The worker can work in anticipation of the time at which the customer will arrive, and can provide desired services without waiting for the customer.

The service providing place according to the third aspect of the present invention is a refueling station for refueling the vehicle on which the customer has boarded, and information on the customer who receives refueling at the refueling station (for example, the type of fuel, etc.). ) Can be known in advance, and services to customers can be prepared in advance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a service information notification system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an instrument panel seen from a driver's seat of a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing equipment of a gas station 12;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a control process executed by a management computer 13;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of an image displayed on a monitor 13a of a management computer 13;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 service information notification system 12 refueling station 14 vehicle 18 information center 19 host computer 26 car navigation device 28 liquid crystal monitor 30, 31, 33 wireless device 34 fuel tank 36 liquid level sensor 44a to 44d refueling device 46a to 46d traffic light 48a to 48d 52A, 52B Vehicle sensor 50A, 50B Display device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transmitting means for transmitting customer data for specifying a customer who is going to visit a service providing place; a receiving means for receiving customer data transmitted from the transmitting means; and a service corresponding to the customer data. Service information storage means for storing information; service information reading means for reading service information corresponding to customer data received by the receiving means from the service information storage means; and service information reading means for reading the service information read by the service information reading means. And a notifying means for notifying the service providing place of the content. A service information notifying system comprising: 2. A position specifying means for specifying position information of the customer; a display means provided at a service providing location; and a service provision to the customer from the position specified by the position specifying means. Arrival time calculating means for calculating the time required to arrive at the location of the place; and information for specifying the customer on the display means is displayed on the display means at the arrival time calculated by the arrival time calculating means. The service information notification system according to claim 1, further comprising: display control means. 3. The service information notification system according to claim 1, wherein the service providing place is a refueling station for refueling a vehicle on which a customer has boarded.